Question 1

can i take dietary supplements like echinacea or vitamins while on bactrim (sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim)?

Accepted Answer

Yes: Will not help the infection.

Question 2

are dietary supplements regulated?

Accepted Answer

Somewhat: While "supplements" are not anywhere nearly as closely regulated as pharmaceutical medications, they do have to meet basic standards for hygiene and manufacturing as food products. You can think of the disclaimer on the package as one example of the requirements on the industry.

Question 3

what are the benefits of dietary supplements?

Accepted Answer

Dietary Supplements: can used used in cases where there are deficiencies of specific vitamins and / or mineralis.

Question 4

do dietary supplement make you lose weight?

Accepted Answer

To be candid-: Healthy nutrition with good portion control and physical activity are the real cause of weight loss. Too many people try to rely on supplements to lose weight.  You must burn more calories than you consume.

Question 5

help please? what is acl dietary supplement?

Accepted Answer

Unfortunately: there is no specific supplement for treatment of the ACL.  Healthy eating and nutrition is key with any surgery or injury.

Question 6

are taking expired dietary supplements toxic?

Accepted Answer

Expired medications: Dietary supplements that have an expiration date on them should be discarded. The chemical nature of any medication or supplement can change over time including the additives to that product.

Question 7

can you use magnesium for dietary supplement ?

Accepted Answer

Yes: Magnesium is important. It is involved in over 300 chemical reactions including muscle, nerve, immune system, heart and bone functions. Adult men need up to 420 mg/day, with younger men, women and children needing less. There is plenty in foods like cereal, nuts, beans, and spinach, so a supplement may not be needed. More info: http://ods.Od.Nih.Gov/factsheets/magnesium-healthprofessional/.

Question 8

what are the side-effects of dietary supplements?

Accepted Answer

Adverse effects: When consumed in high enough amounts, for a long enough time, or in combination with certain other substances, all chemicals can be toxic, including nutrients, plant components, and other biologically active ingredients. (Official US Government FDA website, accessed Oct. 2011
The worst offenders of supplement contamination cases are found among weight loss and sexual enhancement products, and sports enhancement and body building supplements (News &amp; Events -Press Announcements, Dec. 15, 2010, from Official US Government FDA website, accessed Feb. 2011; Cohen, et al., 2014).
Although herbs and botanicals oftentimes do contain essential nutrients for human life -such as vitamins, minerals, and amino acids- they do consists of many other non-essential constituents, frequently in dominant ways.
Because of the presence of numerous plant components which are “foreign” to the human physiology, herbs, in general, tend to be less safe than vitamins and minerals for instance. The official data corroborates that herbs and botanicals tend to generate the most adverse effects of dietary supplements (American Association of Poison Control Centers, 1983-2008; GAO, 2009).
The herbs kava and lobelia have a high risk of causing dietary supplement side effects, including -at large doses- coma and death, which prompted a number of countries (but not the USA) to ban their sale (GAO, 2009). Yohimbe has caused some deaths, ginseng too has been implicated with deaths (American Association of Poison Control Centers, 1983-2008), and ma huang (ephedra) has been banned by the FDA in 2004 after a few people had died.

In many or even most of these case, however, the herbs had not been used as indicated, or as traditionally recommended. Ma huang, for example, has been used safely for thousands of years in Chinese medicine, primarily for respiratory afflictions such as asthma, or congestive issues due to the common cold. In the cases of death involving the herb it was inappropriately used for weight loss and as a stimulant to improve athletic performance, frequently as a highly concentrated extract rather than in the form and at the safety platform of a whole herb, as traditional application suggests. (Weight loss pills frequently contain concentrated botanical extracts that may pose a serious danger
This means that the relatively few cases where people experience negative effects of dietary supplements are almost always tied to products compromised in quality, or improper product use.
drug-nutrient interactions tend to get underreported and minimized. According to information and data retrieved from research, nutritional supplement-drug interactions are most commonly encountered with herbs and botanicals
Other examples. Calcium can lower the absorption of the antibiotic tetracycline, reducing the drug's therapeutic potential. Excessive vitamin A can cause liver damage, Excessive vitamin D can cause kidney stones and calcifications.
kava and valerian act as sedatives and can increase the effects of anesthetics and other medications used during surgery.” (Official US Government FDA website, accessed Oct. 2011)

Typical herbal or botanical offenders that have been identified are Ginkgo biloba, St. John's Wort, valerian, kava, garlic, saw palmetto, ginseng, ginger, willow, and fenugreek 
St. John's Wort can increase serotonin levels excessively when combined with certain anti-depressants, such as selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (Peng, et al., 2004). It can also adversely interact with blood-thinning medications and other cardiovascular drugs. Because Ginkgo biloba has an anticoagulant or blood-thinning effect (decreases platelet aggregation), it could lead to adverse events of increased bleeding when combined with blood-thinning drugs.  Ginseng, garlic, vitamin E also have slight anticoagulant effects.
The majority of health supplement-drug interactions are of low relevance. To increase your likelihood of safety utilizing herbals there are certain common sense rules.
1.	Listen to your advisor carefully and provide full disclosure of any drugs you take (over the counter as well)
2.	Share with your physician or dentist all vitamins and herbal information.
3.	More is not better follow the rules.
4.	Watch out for discounted vitamins. Buy a high quality name brand since the FDA does not regulate the supplement industry and only steps in with serious side effects or deaths.
If you compare this to the facts about drug-drug interactions you can clearly see the obvious truth about dietary supplements and drug interactions are uncommon. (rather than the misleading anti-supplement propaganda).
Stevan Cordas DO MPH
Associate Clinical Professor UNTHSC TCOM Fort Worth

Question 9

does the dietary supplement slimquick work for you?

Accepted Answer

Slimquick: I personally have not used slimquick.  It relies on green tea and caffeine as "fat burners."  some people appear to benefit.  However, if you're sensitive to caffeine or other stimulants, this one could make you jittery or disturb your sleep.  Additionally, taking the supplement will not be a sufficient plan if you want to lose weight.  Your diet and exercise will need to change too.

Question 10

are there any good dietary supplements for porphyria?

Accepted Answer

Adjuncts only: The key to managing porphyria is educating yourself, learning how to avoid attacks, and becoming more familiar with your illness than a specialist physician. You can do this. The worst place to learn about porphyria is from people who are trying to sell you supplements, or blogs with testimonials that are likely to be misguided or even fake. Start with sites intended for physicians. Be discerning.

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Doctor answers about:

Echinacea dietary supplement

A member asked:

Can i take dietary supplements like echinacea or vitamins while on bactrim (sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim)?

A member asked:

Are dietary supplements regulated?

A member asked:

What are the benefits of dietary supplements?

A member asked:

Do dietary supplement make you lose weight?

A member asked:

Help please? what is acl dietary supplement?

A member asked:

Are taking expired dietary supplements toxic?

A member asked:

Can you use magnesium for dietary supplement ?

A member asked:

What are the side-effects of dietary supplements?

A member asked:

Does the dietary supplement slimquick work for you?

A member asked:

Are there any good dietary supplements for porphyria?

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